Yusei Kikuchi turned in a solid performance against the Rakuten Eagles at MetLife Dome tonight. He gave up a run on three hits, including a home run, over eight innings of work. He threw 115 pitches, faced twenty-eight batters, walked one, and struck out eleven. He also set a new NPB velocity record for Japanese left-handed pitchers by topping 158km/h on his sixth pitch to Zelous Wheeler in the fifth inning.

Note: Hiroyuki Kawahara also topped 158km/h, but it was during a Ni-gun game against Chunichi on July 28, 2012.